Heating apparatus



Feb. 24, 1942.

T. B. MODINE HEATING APPARATUS Filed'sept. 2, 19,58'

2 Sheets-Sheet 1 f Jzm Feb. 24, 1942. T B, 00mg 2,274,492

HEATING APPARATUS Filed Sept. y2, 1938 2 Sheets- Sheet 2 f 5 7 Z5 AZ7 Z56 73 Z9J7J5 74 g i U 75 f-Jf i f *Y Z3 7g i @all Z5 634@ Patented Feb.24, 1942 HEATING APPARATUS 4 llihomas B. Medine, St. Petersburg, Fla.

Application September 2, 1938, Serial No. 228,091 (Cl. 126-271) 2Claims.

The invention relates generally to heaters, and more particularly toAsolar heaters for heating water or other iluids.

The invention has among its objects the -production `of a heater whichderives its heat energy from the sun and which is simple and durable inconstruction, and eicient for the purposes intended.

Another object of the, invention is to construct Asuch a heaterwhich isadjustable, allowing the device to be positioned so that it willreceiveif' thef maximum amount of sunlight and also which may be folded whennot in use, and thereby occupy comparatively little space.

Another object of the invention is to produce such a heater havingimproved circulation and increased thermal action. Y

Many other objects and advantages of the invention herein shown anddescribed will be obvious to those skilled in thel art fromv thedisclosure herein given. u i

To this end, my invention consists in the novel construction,arrangement and combination of parts herein shown and more particularlypointed outintheclaims. e ,j v In the drawings wherein likel referencecharacters indicate likefor correspondingparts:

Fig. 1 represents apartially diagrammatic View of a'completeheatingsystem embodying the invention;

Fig. 2 is a front elevational view of the heating elements; n

Fig. 3 isa sectional view taken on the line 3 3 of Fig. 2;'

Fig. l is a sectional view `taken on the line 4 4 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 5 is an enlarged'fragmentary view-ofk a corner of one ofthe heatingunits `with the various parts thereof broken away lto show theconstruction`of the same;

Fig. 6 is a side elevational view of the device showing the manner inwhich the heating units are supported;

Fig. 7 is a view similar to Fig. 6, but in section` larly to Figs. land2, I represents an ordinary water storage tank `connected to a suitablesupply pipe 2. The heating unit 3 which will hereinafter be described,has an inlet 4 in one end of the device and an outlet 5 atthe oppositeend, both the inlet and outlet being connected with thetank I bysuitable piping 6 and I, respectively, the pipe 6 being `connected tothe tank adjacent the supply pip-e Zand the pipe I at f the opposite endof the tank adjacent the delivery pipe 8. The Water flows from thesupply pipe 2 into the tank I and through the pipes 6 and 'I to theheating element 3, thus lling up the system. As the water in the heatingelement or unit 3 is heated by the sun, it will circulate by convectionthrough the element 3, pipe 1, tank'I and pipe 6, thus heating the waterin the tank I, and as water is drawn from the delivery pipe 8, more willenter the tank from the supply pipe 2. The pipe 'I preferably enters thetank I relatively near the delivery pipe 8 so that heated Water may bedrawn oi before the entire tank of water is heated.

As shown in Figs. 2 to 5, the heating units 3 'h comprise a sealedchamber I I formed bythe bottom plate I2, side members I3, end membersI4 and glass plate I5. Extending along the side members I3 are strips I6oi' wood or other suitable material which are hollowed out at I1 toreceive the header pipes IB which are preferably formed of copper orother good heat conductor. The strips IB serve to insulate the pipes andassociated parts from the side members I3. Extending from the headers I8are suitable studs I9 projecting through the strips I6 and side membersI3, the nuts 2| on the studs I9 securely holding the headers I8 inposition. EX- tending from one header tothe other are a plurality ofsmaller cross tubes 22 connecting the two headers and also preferablyformed of copper, the relative size of the headers'and tubes dependingon the capacity desired in the system. The tubes and headers aresoldered, brazed, or otherwise suitably secured to form a leakproofconstruction. To increase the heat absorbing area, and thereby increasethe efficiency of the device, ns 23 are provided, the latter beingrigidly secured to the headers by soldering, brazing or other suitablemeans, so that heat absorbed by the ns will be transmitted by conductionto the tubes and the fluid, the fins preferably occupying all availablearea between the tubes and headers.A Likewise, these iins may be formedof separate pieces which are secured to the tubes, as shown in Fig. 4,or may be constructed in the form of a single n 43, to which the tubes42 are suitably secured, the latter if desired resting in grooves 44 orthe like formed in the n, as shown in Fig. 9. In either construction theentire exposed interior of the device including the headers, tubes, andns are preferably painted black to increase the heat absorption thereof.The space between the bottom I2 and the underside of the ns and tubes,etc., is filled with any suitable insulating material 24 to retain theheat in the tubes, etc., and prevent loss of heat through the lowerportion of the device. The bottom I2 is attached to the strip I6 bymeans of screws 25 which pass through the side members I3 and bottom I2into the strips IB, the portion of the bottom I2 adjacent the ends I4being bent at a right angle thereto extending along the element I4 for asubstantial distance and then back parallel to the bottom, the ends ofthe glass plate I5 restingr on the laterally extending portion 26 andthe side edges of the glass resting on the strip I'I which is grooved toreceive it. The plate I5 is held in position by a felt strip 21, whichextends around the edges thereof, the nail 28 holding the strip 21 inplace, while the side and end members I3 and I4, respectively, areformed with laterally extending flange 29 adapted to overlie the strip21 to provide a workmanlike construction, the members I3 and I4 beingsecured to one another at their adjacent edges by any suitable means, asfor example, by welding or brazing.

Secured to each unit 3 are suitable iron U- beams 3I, preferably onebeam at each end of a unit. The beams 3| which extend from the unit 3are pivotally secured at one end, as shown at 32, to a U-shaped basemember 33. At the opposite end 4of the member 33, a similar U-beam 34 ispivoted at 35, the washers 36 maintaining the member in spaced relation.The beam 34 is provided with a plurality of holes 37 adjacent its freeend and engages the free end of the beam 3|, the same being lockedtogether at 33 by means of a suitable pin extending through therespective holes in the members 3| and 34. As shown in Figs. '7 and 8,the members 3l, 33, and 34 are of such respective sizes that the samewill nest one within the other, the member 3i being notched at 4I toprevent engagement with the pin 35,and thereby allow Vthe device to befolded when not in use. Likewise, by providing a plurality of holes 31,-the unit 3 may be positioned at substantially any desired angle so asto receive the full benefit of thesun.

.It will be seen from the 1above vdescription that I have provided aheating unit which comprises essentially a `sealed chamber `having atransparent top plate through which the suns rays may penetrate.Positionedin this chamber are a pair of header pipes connected by aplurality of tubes, with suitable fins secured thereto. The suns rayspass through the glass plate into the cham-ber II where they strike thefins and tubes, the heat being absorbed in the latter and conducted tothe fluid, and thereby utilizing a comparatively large heat absorbingarea. Likewise, by means of the holes'l, the device may be positioned atany angle so as to best utilize the suns rays. The units 3 arepreferably made in lengths 'of ve and seven feet, thereby providing Hvarious combinations to aiord a plurality of various lengths; forexample, various combinationsof five and seven foot lengths may bejoined together to provide the equivalent of a ten, twelve, orfourteen-foot unit.

In operation, the device is placed on the roof or other suitable placeand the unit or units set up so as to receive the greatest amount ofavailable sunlight. If two or more units are used, they are connected inseries as shown in Fig. 2 by means of suitable connectors 39 joining theends of the respective header pipes, as many units being connected as isdesired to furnish a suflicient supply of hot water. The inlet 4 isconnected with the tank I and the adjacent end of the opposite outletheader is closed by means of a suitable cap 4i] as is the opposite endof the inlet header, the outlet 5 being connected by means of the pipe'I to the tank I. Obviously, if two or more units are used, one end ofthe inlet header and the opposite end of the outlet header are cappedregardless of the number of units. As the water in the pipes I8 andconnecting tubes 22 is heated, the water will flow upward through thepipe 'I into the tank, cold water entering the inlet 4 by means of thepipe 6. The water will continue to circulate through the unit 3 byconvection, thus heating the water in the tank, the cycle being throughthe pipe 6 and inlet 4 into the inlet header pipe IB, through the tubes22 into the other header pipe and outlet 5 through the pipe I and backinto the tank.

It will be seen from the above description that I have provided a meansof heating water by utilizing the suns rays, which is novel inconstruction, durable and ecient for the purpose intended.

Having thus described my invention, it is obvious that Variousimmaterial modications may be made in the same without departing fromthe spirit and scope of my invention; hence, I do not wish to beunderstood as 'limiting myself to the exact form, construction,arrangement and combination of parts herein shown and described or usesmentioned.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In a heating device of the kind described, a substantially flat heattransfer element, comprising a pair of substantially parallel inlet andoutlet pipes and a plurality of smaller cross-tubes connecting saidpipes for the passage of the fluid to be heated from the inlet pipe tothe outlet pipe, a plurality of fins extending between and rigidlysecured to said cross-tubes, said iins being substantially parallel withthe common axial plane of said pipes, a container enclosing saidelement, consisting of a bottom, a glass top, and side and end members,insulating strips extending along the interior of said side members,each strip having a channel therein adapted to receive one of saidpipes, studs extending from said pipes and passing through therespective strips and side members, the latter and said end membershaving inwardly extending flanges overlying said top and bottom, a feltstrip positioned between said glass top and the adjacent flanges, and alayer of heat-insulating material positioned between said heat transferelement and said bottom.

2. In a heating device of the kind described, a substantially flat heattransfer element comprising a pair of substantially parallel inlet andoutlet pipes, and a plurality of cross-tubes connecting said pipes forthe passage of fluid to be heated from the inlet pipe to the outletpipe, a plurality of nns extending between and rigidly secured to saidcross-tubes, said fins being substantially parallel with the commonaxial plane of said pipes, a container secured to and enclosand passingthrough the respective strips to secure the same thereto whereby saidheat transfer element is supported in said container, and a layer ofheat insulating material positioned between said heat transfer elementand the bottom of said container.

THOMAS B. MODINE.

